Early Education

Any educational program servicing children in the preschool years, employing trained adults, and administering a program designed to enhance later school performance might be considered an example of early childhood education (ECE). The original impetus behind what is now a   heterogeneous collection of programs was the desire to provide young children living in poverty—
and sometimes their families—with assistance to minimize the risks to their later academic growth and
development. 

Source: Credo Reference: Early Childhood Education

From the Journal of Early Childhood Education.  Articles are open access and available on or off campus.